Inventor of the AK-47, Mikhail Kalashnikov dies

Mikhail Kalashnikov, the inventor of the AK-47 assault rifle has died at the age of 94, RFE/RL reports.

The weapon Kalashnikov designed is the most widely used assault rifle in the world and has been used in nearly every conflict around the globe for the last 50 years.

Kalashnikov received numerous awards from Soviet and later Russian leaders for his weapon.

Kalashnikov fought in the Soviet Army in World War II and used his knowledge of machinery, weapons and warfare to invent many newer, more efficient weapons but the AK-47 was the weapon he is best known for.

The "AK" is short for "Avtomat Kalashnikov."

Kalashnikov had been in poor health for some time.

He died in Izhevsk, in Udmurtia (Russia), where he had been living for years and where a factory still produces his weapon.